Yeah im thinking this pricing new and used in USA really make it a tough sell compared to UK. If i could have this guitar for 150 id be laughing about how I stole it
BTW Jim. I bought the sc 550 custom EMG and the SC-550 II EMG and they really are fantastic. Better than the SC-550 II and the SC-Custom Gotoh that I also have. My other LPs are a Sire L7 gold top, and Epiphone 59 Standard, and 2 1960s Tribute Plus with the 57 classic pups. All fantastic value and as good or better than the Gibson standard and studio I once owned.
My best mate has a vintage les Paul style guitar (might be this one but it’s left handed and he got it at least 10 years ago) and it’s seriously impressive. The pickups on his are hot but it sounds fantastic in his hands and is an absolutely ridiculous level of bargain- really good quality at any price but especially what he paid for it (about 120 I think if I remember rightly!!!) Great demo as ever and really interesting to see a more recent Vintage in use!
Great review! I just bought a Vintage V1003 (3 pick up LP) here in the UK for 295 GBP. I'm knocked out with it and it plays great. I'm ok with the weight...I believe a Les Paul should be hefty! Not wanting to spam but I just put up a video of a lead tone with the Vintage if you want to check it out, (Long Goodbyes) Cheers!
I own a 2010 V100 it came with they Double Coil Alnico 5 , I had a tech set my Vintage up being a gigging musician and owner of a Les Paul, he loved the weigh love the guitar this is a Les Paul the difference is the name on the headstock, but a difference that hardly ever gets mention is the G string stays in tune due to the angel of the neck which Trevor Wilkinson understood, this V100 is the Icon series the one I have is the Reissue series, the tuners are fine, and with the new V100 Reissue they come with Grover tuners, I would still stick with Vintage over HB , I love the traditional feel of V100 nothing fancy , just the way it was meant to be,
Jim I really thought your playing demo sounded really good. I know you did a good job recording, but whatever part the pickups played they sounded very good. I enjoyed the demo. Great comments too.
Nice review as always.. common sense approach.. honesty above all others.. I like Vintage guitars as they do a good job overall.. but you are correct.. lot more bang for the buck out there.. and that Blackstar Studio is a GREAT amp for these kind of tests. love my KT-88 version.. (as i dont need to channel switch to cleans..lol)..
I have a v100 with alnico 5 pickups, it is a nice sounding guitar. My Tokai ual62 which costs about 300 more, is in a different league though, the best lp style under 1000 bucks imo. I love Ltd guitars, but their Lp style guitars have their own/different sound.
Thanks Jim. Good review. Totally agree with you on the price/value vs competition thing. I have a Vintage V6 that sounds amazing-better than my Strat. BUT: all I’ve done, it seems, is work on it. Frets, trem, more fret edges, trem, frets, etc. I could have spent just a little more for a MIM Fender. Funny thing is I like the guitar. Just a little overpriced. Peace.
I've had a couple of the Vintage guitars, and I'd say they're solid and reliable, if not the most exciting things out there. I had a 'metallll' style SG-a-like, which I got secondhand for £40, and I still own a Dreadnought electro-acoustic, which I got as B stock for £99, and is a very usable guitar. (It's the one I take out for a jam, when I know beer will be involved, and I don't want anything to fussy to look after). They made a lot more sense before Thomaan/HB torpedoed the market. It's a shame that JHS, (the parent company/distributors), don't go in to selling them direct like Thomann.
I had a Vintage Lemon Drop and my mate (who has played many Les Pauls of high value) said it was the best Les Paul he had ever played. I just wish I hadnt let it go!
he got lucky because with these things it is a lottery for sure it is one in one hundred that plays good out of the factory but the majority are quite dogshit
Well. I’ve had Harley Benton guitars. The pickups are not good. In the uk we can get vintage guitars around 335.00 or less. The vintage guitars I have sound like gibsons, the HB sound generic. Just sayin. I’m on my no 5 vintage guitar and I play them more than my two Gibson guitars. Weight……. None of my vintage guitars with maple caps are weight relieved and come in at around 7.8lbs to 8.8 lbs. Ask your retailer to sort you a light one. And as you haven’t mentioned all have a long neck tenon!!!! Only Gibson custom shops have that. Also not all Trev Wilkinson pickups are ceramic. In my view all a gigging musician needs is a vintage les Paul !!!!! They are that good!!!! My next vintage is the limited edition vmx les Paul. And they all come with a fantastic set up right out of the box.
They are a common sight on Ebay UK and as said below, can be picked up for a good price, and if you are lucky, with better pickups. I have to agree with Jim at full retail they are not a great buy, they realy do need better pickups and the few i have tried varied a lot in terms of quality. Harley Benton's SC550 Mk2's are a far better option. Vintage guitars used to be good when Trevor Wilkinson kept an eye on quality at the Chinese factory, but recent samples are not so good. Sometimes you get what you pay for.
Too heavy. My vintage les Paul’s are 8lbs 7oz max. Tip if you buy one of these online you can request a light one from the shop. I do it works. 10lbs is wayeeee to heavy although Gibson makes boat anchors as well.!!!!
if you look at it only yes it is a nice guitar but if you play it then you will have to take it to the doctor and spend another 200 dollars to adjust it a little bit..so better wait a little bit and spend over 1000 dollars for something decent..musical instruments aren't toys...
Some instruments are definitely toys. I wouldn't call this a toy but it's nowhere near an entry level Japanese made singlecut that won't cost much more.
People are all cheesed off with licenced goods , and countries that dont do them , they copy others ! Tough sh/t watch makers have been copying stuff for centuries cars everything , everything is a copy of something , get over it , theres some seriously good bands out there had the chance to shine because of copies and rip off equipment you would say
Yeah I have no problem with any of this stuff obviously, my line in the sand are the Chinese makers that sell straight up counterfeits with fake USA serial numbers and brand names on the top.
These are really good value 2nd hand in the UK. I picked up a V100 Icon with upgraded gold Tesla-Opus 1 pups for £150. Heavy beast but very playable.
Yeah im thinking this pricing new and used in USA really make it a tough sell compared to UK. If i could have this guitar for 150 id be laughing about how I stole it
BTW Jim. I bought the sc 550 custom EMG and the SC-550 II EMG and they really are fantastic. Better than the SC-550 II and the SC-Custom Gotoh that I also have. My other LPs are a Sire L7 gold top, and Epiphone 59 Standard, and 2 1960s Tribute Plus with the 57 classic pups. All fantastic value and as good or better than the Gibson standard and studio I once owned.
My best mate has a vintage les Paul style guitar (might be this one but it’s left handed and he got it at least 10 years ago) and it’s seriously impressive. The pickups on his are hot but it sounds fantastic in his hands and is an absolutely ridiculous level of bargain- really good quality at any price but especially what he paid for it (about 120 I think if I remember rightly!!!)
Great demo as ever and really interesting to see a more recent Vintage in use!
Great review! I just bought a Vintage V1003 (3 pick up LP) here in the UK for 295 GBP. I'm knocked out with it and it plays great. I'm ok with the weight...I believe a Les Paul should be hefty! Not wanting to spam but I just put up a video of a lead tone with the Vintage if you want to check it out, (Long Goodbyes) Cheers!
I own a 2010 V100 it came with they Double Coil Alnico 5 , I had a tech set my Vintage up being a gigging musician and owner of a Les Paul, he loved the weigh love the guitar this is a Les Paul the difference is the name on the headstock, but a difference that hardly ever gets mention is the G string stays in tune due to the angel of the neck which Trevor Wilkinson understood, this V100 is the Icon series the one I have is the Reissue series, the tuners are fine, and with the new V100 Reissue they come with Grover tuners, I would still stick with Vintage over HB , I love the traditional feel of V100 nothing fancy , just the way it was meant to be,
Jim I really thought your playing demo sounded really good. I know you did a good job recording, but whatever part the pickups played they sounded very good. I enjoyed the demo. Great comments too.
Thanks Jason I really appreciate it! I think this guitar at the HB pricing would be a huge hit, but at double it's just a tough sale tbh
Beautiful color!
Nice review as always.. common sense approach.. honesty above all others.. I like Vintage guitars as they do a good job overall.. but you are correct.. lot more bang for the buck out there.. and that Blackstar Studio is a GREAT amp for these kind of tests. love my KT-88 version.. (as i dont need to channel switch to cleans..lol)..
I have a v100 with alnico 5 pickups, it is a nice sounding guitar. My Tokai ual62 which costs about 300 more, is in a different league though, the best lp style under 1000 bucks imo. I love Ltd guitars, but their Lp style guitars have their own/different sound.
Great playing!
Thanks Jim. Good review. Totally agree with you on the price/value vs competition thing. I have a Vintage V6 that sounds amazing-better than my Strat. BUT: all I’ve done, it seems, is work on it. Frets, trem, more fret edges, trem, frets, etc. I could have spent just a little more for a MIM Fender. Funny thing is I like the guitar. Just a little overpriced. Peace.
I've had a couple of the Vintage guitars, and I'd say they're solid and reliable, if not the most exciting things out there. I had a 'metallll' style SG-a-like, which I got secondhand for £40, and I still own a Dreadnought electro-acoustic, which I got as B stock for £99, and is a very usable guitar. (It's the one I take out for a jam, when I know beer will be involved, and I don't want anything to fussy to look after). They made a lot more sense before Thomaan/HB torpedoed the market. It's a shame that JHS, (the parent company/distributors), don't go in to selling them direct like Thomann.
We talkin’ SG thin or Charvel thin?
What other guitar would you say the neck thickness is closest to?
I like vintage! My strat had high and low frets. I had a luthier level the frets. Otherwise great instruments.
I had a Vintage Lemon Drop and my mate (who has played many Les Pauls of high value) said it was the best Les Paul he had ever played. I just wish I hadnt let it go!
he got lucky because with these things it is a lottery for sure it is one in one hundred that plays good out of the factory but the majority are quite dogshit
Harley bentons are actually made in the cort factory. Those headstocks are identical.
Yep, that's what I had thought immediately after knowing both were indonesian and the construction of them
Well.
I’ve had Harley Benton guitars. The pickups are not good. In the uk we can get vintage guitars around 335.00 or less. The vintage guitars I have sound like gibsons, the HB sound generic. Just sayin. I’m on my no 5 vintage guitar and I play them more than my two Gibson guitars. Weight……. None of my vintage guitars with maple caps are weight relieved and come in at around 7.8lbs to 8.8 lbs. Ask your retailer to sort you a light one. And as you haven’t mentioned all have a long neck tenon!!!! Only Gibson custom shops have that. Also not all Trev Wilkinson pickups are ceramic. In my view all a gigging musician needs is a vintage les Paul !!!!! They are that good!!!! My next vintage is the limited edition vmx les Paul. And they all come with a fantastic set up right out of the box.
They are a common sight on Ebay UK and as said below, can be picked up for a good price, and if you are
lucky, with better pickups.
I have to agree with Jim at full retail they are not a great buy, they realy do need better pickups and the few i have tried
varied a lot in terms of quality.
Harley Benton's SC550 Mk2's are a far better option.
Vintage guitars used to be good when Trevor Wilkinson kept an eye on quality at the Chinese factory, but recent samples
are not so good.
Sometimes you get what you pay for.
thanks!
No problem!
Vintage are often available new below the rrp
Too heavy.
My vintage les Paul’s are 8lbs 7oz max. Tip if you buy one of these online you can request a light one from the shop. I do it works. 10lbs is wayeeee to heavy although Gibson makes boat anchors as well.!!!!
Like the tones. I think better than Alnico.
Vintage build a great guitar.
The build quality is really good, I've played two since this one and they were both very well made as well.
Vintage guitars are made in Vietnam, at least they were. Nowadays I don't know. I doubt they are made in Indonesia. Probably China.
Yes, I hate thin necks
if you look at it only yes it is a nice guitar but if you play it then you will have to take it to the doctor and spend another 200 dollars to adjust it a little bit..so better wait a little bit and spend over 1000 dollars for something decent..musical instruments aren't toys...
Some instruments are definitely toys. I wouldn't call this a toy but it's nowhere near an entry level Japanese made singlecut that won't cost much more.
I prefer baseball bat necks.
People are all cheesed off with licenced goods , and countries that dont do them , they copy others ! Tough sh/t watch makers have been copying stuff for centuries cars everything , everything is a copy of something , get over it , theres some seriously good bands out there had the chance to shine because of copies and rip off equipment you would say
Yeah I have no problem with any of this stuff obviously, my line in the sand are the Chinese makers that sell straight up counterfeits with fake USA serial numbers and brand names on the top.